How we met, falling in love, and our Engagement between Countries…
Crossing Borders…
I had never been anywhere out of the country and had always wanted to travel. However, it never seemed to be the right time, EVER. Then I met this amusing, energetic and yes attractive Canadian. When we met he was serving a mission here in Colorado for our Church. Through his two year mission, he invited everyone…and I mean everyone, to visit him in Calgary Canada. He made it sound so alluring so I said why not. With my passport in hand I hopped on a plane in November 2006 for an adventure in the Great White North. Little did I know that this trip would be the beginning of our journey together. I stepped off the plane, and our adventures began!
Christopher picked me up at the airport and then showed me the sights of Calgary. First Stop… Peters Drive Inn… which has the BEST greasiest hamburgers and thickest milkshakes. Then I had heaven in a bowl, poutines (french fries, gravy and cheese curds). I tried sushi for the first time and loved it, and learned how to use chopsticks. To add a little bit of cheesiness we spent some time at Build-A-Bear making a Canadian Mounty for me to take home.
Christopher knows his way around sightseeing, he’s like a tourist in his own home; he wanted to show me anything and everything. We went to Banff if you have never been to Banff stop what you are doing and add it to your bucket list! Actually don’t just add it, just plan it! It truly is like you are walking into a Wonderland. We enjoyed the miraculous mountain views, walked around the castle Banff Springs Hotel. Oh, yea saw a mermaid… and then soaked in the Banff Hot Springs, which were glorious. I almost forgot about the giant monkey and Alien face on the sides of the mountains, check out the photos below. You’ll understand then!
After we explored the whole Banff and Canmore area then ventured to the West Edmonton Mall. Did you know they have a full-size Waterpark, Amusement Park, and Ice Skating Rick in that Mall…OH MY GOSH. I had the time of my life. We spent a whole day at the Waterpark, I love swimming and waterslides, so this place was perfect! They even have a GIANT wave pool inside that actually has big waves!
We made sure to hit the rides up at Galaxyland, yes that’s right its inside the mall also. Plus they have one of the fastest roller coasters in the world. Its crazy fun but terrifying also! We also made some time to go miniature golfing, take in the sea lion show. I know sea lions in a mall, its pretty amazing. Next, we went ice skating it was my first time. We also stayed at the hotel connected to the WEM. I was honestly so sad when we had to leave because we were having an amazing time. I made him promise that we could go back there again sometime.
That evening as we were heading back to Calgary, we were jamming out in the nice warm car when Christopher suddenly pulls off the road and tells me to “get out,”! Freaked out, yep, you could say that. I waited for a second, curious as to what was going on and then he got out of the car too. We walked to the back of the car and he told me to look up.
That’s when I saw it, there it was, the most beautiful crystal clear view of the Milky Way. Until that moment I had never seen so many stars in the sky shining like that in my life! I had actually never seen the Milky Way before in my life. Here I was, standing with this guy looking at one of the most amazing sights I had ever seen. That’s when I knew I was falling in love.
The rest of the vacation was just as Epic, We walked on the glass floor of the Calgary Tower (talk about summoning up some courage). I’m terrified of heights. We ventured to Johnston Canyon for some frozen waterfalls, slippery walkways and yes I did land on my butt once. We also explored the beautiful blue frozen, Lake Louise. Another place to add to your bucket/planning list. Christopher and I had such an amazing time, you can imagine how hard it was when I had head back to Denver Colorado. But I did miss my kids a ton and knew they would be excited to hear about all the adventures. The best news is, that’s just the beginning of our Love story….
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